Building on 1917 discovery of bacteriophages - viruses that live within bacteria and can kill other bacteria - FDA scientists have found what they believe are powerful, naturally occurring 'good' bacteria that can slaughter 'bad' bacteria on fresh fruits, vegetables. In experiments, microorganisms kill salmonella, listeria, e.coli O15:H7 on tomato surfaces; only vibrio, found in warm seawater that can contaminate oysters and other seafood, has stood its ground.

Agriculture is at frontier of technological progress; its innovations will largely determine whether and at what cost world will feed its growing population. No company should dominate such an essential business. Good place to probe potentially anticompetitive behavior is Monsanto, which is trying to block DuPont from adding its own genetic traits to Monsanto's Roundup Ready technology to produce soybeans that would be resistant to multiple pesticides. Monsanto genes, which resist Roundup weedkiller, present in 97 percent of soybean crops, 79 percent of corn.

Monsanto plans to increase cost of genetically modified corn, soybean seed as much as 42 percent, effectively splitting expected profits of increased yields. New biotech SmartStax corn seed expected to be planted on up to 4 million acres in 2010, with national potential for 65 million acres; Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean seeds were planted on 1.5 million acres this year, with potential of 55 million acres, Monsanto said. And: After residents' opposition, Boulder county postpones decision on whether to allow farmers to grow Monsanto GMO beets on county open space; GMO corn has been permitted since 2003 (click 'See also').

Return to old rice farming method cut methane emissions from Chinese paddies by 70 percent since 1980. Rice growing causes 20 percent of global production of methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases. Draining paddies between harvests cuts rot and methane, but somewhat increases nitrous oxide, another greenhouse gas. Also: In U.S., main man-made sources of methane are landfills and livestock (Click 'See also').

California pesticide regulators resume review of methyl iodide for strawberry fields. Carcinogen OK'd for use in every state except California, Washington, New York. Federal law requires growers to set up buffer zones, prohibits workers from entering field for 48 hours after methyl iodide is applied, but critics worry about safety of those living or working near the plots. And: In Mississippi's delta, Roundup drift, from crop-dust pilots or ground-level applicators, can damage off-target crops, trees, gardens (click 'See also').

Excavations in Jordan reveal evidence of world's oldest known granaries, upending assumptions that people only started to store significant amounts of food when plants were domesticated. Structures preceded emergence of fully domesticated plants and large-scale sedentary communities by at least 1,000 years. And: In 'An Edible History of Humanity,' Tom Standage shows how changes in food production, technology, consumption dragged humanity from its hunter-gatherer days (click 'See also').

Air pollution in eastern China reduces light rainfall patterns critical to country's agriculture, may be contributing to drought, study shows. While China's population rose two and a half times in size in last half of 20th century, emissions of sulfur from fossil fuel burning rose nine times. And: Scientists in China want government to supply coal briquettes, improved stoves to millions of rural households to cut country's high air pollution levels. Traditional cooking/heating fuel is coal chunks (click 'See also').

Review of studies on nutritional content of organic and conventional produce says there are few differences (click 'See also'), but big concern is standard of science. Of 162 field trials, farm surveys and basket surveys from 1958 to 2008, only 55 contained sufficient information for inclusion in analysis. Review didn't address public health or environmental benefits of organic production methods such as regulating chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.

EPA, Canadian Food Inspection Agency OK genetically modified SmartStax corn seed for sale. The seed, a result of partnership between agribusiness giant Monsanto and Dow Chemical, includes eight biotech genes that shield it from weedkiller applications and also kill insects in multiple ways (click 'See also'). Regulators also agreed to reduce 'refuge area' - a percentage of acreage required to be planted in conventional corn seed to guard against developing pesticide tolerance in bugs.

Whole Foods says it plans to test its private label products for genetically engineered organisms and begin labeling before end of year. Nonprofit Non-GMO Project is designed to test whether a product has met defined standards for presence of genetically engineered or modified organisms. FDA says as much as 75 percent of processed food in U.S. may contain components from GM crops. And: GMO sugar beet farmer uses solar power to aid in lifting 210-pound kegs of Monsanto's weedkiller, Roundup (click 'See also').

Disrupting salmonella's ability to use glucose for food while it sickens host could be key to creating vaccines for it, other bacteria, researchers learn. Salmonella food poisoning sickens about 20 million people annually, causing about 200,000 deaths. It also infects farm animals. And: Whole cantaloupes sold to some Wal-Mart stores recalled (click 'See also').

Corn, potatoes, lettuce absorb antibiotics in soil fertilized with manure from livestock treated to increase growth, prevent infections. Nearly 70 percent of antibiotics and related drugs used in U.S. routinely fed to cattle, pigs and poultry - nearly 25 million pounds of antibiotics per year, advocacy group reports. Beyond encouraging development of resistant bacteria (click 'See also'), tainted manure can infiltrate water supplies as it percolates through soil into aquifers or runs off into waterways. Manure composting cut concentrations of some antibiotics up to 99 percent.

New African soil mapping plan to assess mineral, organic nutrients and guide farmers in using fertilizer or crop rotation aims to reduce poverty, feed growing populations and cope with impact of climate change on agriculture. African soils are among most depleted on earth. New York launch scheduled for Feb. 17 (click 'See also').

Hunting, commercial fishing and some conservation rules, like minimum size limits on fish, accelerating rates of evolutionary change in species, researchers find. Human predation is opposite to what occurs in nature, agriculture - with newly born or nearly dead the target of predators in wild, and farmers, breeders retaining most robust, fertile adults to breed.

Profit more than doubles for biotech giant Monsanto, world's biggest seed maker. Boost came from sales of seeds for genetically modified soybeans, corn, and accompanying Roundup weedkiller. U.S. farmers will plant about 90 million acres of corn this year; up to 35 million with Monsanto's triple-stack seeds, up 20 percent from last year, company head predicts.

Food firms see obstacles to irradiation of leafy greens, including scarcity of sites, costs and doubts that shoppers will embrace bacteria zapping method. Bagged salad maker calls it 'tease of a technology.' Only a few sites are set up for food, which means processors would pay three ways: shipping costs, shipping time and the procedure itself.

In challenge to genetic engineering and old customs, Cornell scientist doubles rice harvests by planting early, giving seedlings more room to grow and calling halt to flooding fields. Critics complain that method increases drudgery of farming and yields are exaggerated, yet agree to field trials for determination.

Packaged, processed food products likely to contain genetic modifications if they contain soybean oil or corn syrup, experts say. About three-fourths of the corn, and about 90 percent of the soybeans planted in U.S. are genetically modified. In poll, 87 percent of us want biotech ingredients labeled, as in Europe, Japan and Australia.

Hawaii to test technology that eventually will trace product to farm of origin and identifies where foods were sent. Government says system will improve food safety and will create a database of all produce shipped and sold. State follows U.S. Department of Defense and Wal-Mart which in 2003 mandated radio tags for all crates and cartons. Critics say that tracking individual items actually tracks individuals and their eating habits.

Pollution is reducing distance that flowers' aroma can reach, research shows. Bees eat flower nectar, and if they have a hard time finding the flowers, they can't sustain their populations. Scent molecules readily bond with pollutants such as ozone, which destroys the aroma. In the 1800s, scents could travel up to 4,000 feet; today, up to 980 feet, scientist says.

Irradiation, unlike water or chemical bath, kills bacteria within leaves of spinach and lettuce, researchers find. Critics say irradiation is stopgap measure that ignores bigger problem of how food is grown, processed and sold, and that process changes taste, nutritional value of food and produces toxic chemicals. Irradiated foods, except for spices, must be labeled as such, FDA says.

Fatal wheat fungus, Ug99, spreads from Africa to Iran. Three-day wind in 2007 may have carried spores to India and Pakistan as well, where 20 percent of world's wheat is grown and one billion depend on grain for food. In response, Monsanto, Syngenta promote genetically modified wheat seed, said to resist to Ug99, and want ban on GM wheat lifted.

While developing diet for life on Mars, researchers see benefits of same sustainable diet for Earth. Rice, azolla (highly nutritious mosquito fern, with drawback of stink) and loach (a fish) grown together would allow air- and water-cleaning, with azolla pulling nitrogen from the air, nurturing rice without need for fertilizer. Other foods are soybeans, sweet potatoes, silkworm pupa and a green-yellow vegetable.

Some Iowa corn has been contaminated with unapproved genetic modifications since 2006, Dow AgroSciences and EPA report. Though seed sold for 2008 crop has been recalled, harvested grain poses no risk, because the proteins produced by the unapproved Dow variety, called Event 32, are identical to the proteins in approved variety, called Event 22, federal officials say.

Spanish winemakers, alarmed by warming climate, build a rainwater reservoir, try new varieties, fertilize, monitor by satellite, grow their vines taller and prune them differently, harvest earlier, sometimes even by night and plan a $370 million study. Meanwhile, the grapes are ripening faster, sugar and alcohol content are rising, and the aroma is losing its complexity.

Potatoes, lettuce and corn absorbed antibiotics from pig manure used as fertilizer in experiment, a USDA-funded study first reported in 2006. Effects of consuming raw or cooked plants containing antibiotics are largely unknown, but concerns include antibiotic resistance and allergic reactions.

As organic food sales increase 20 percent a year and some bring up the question of authenticity, scientists study sweet pepper plants to learn how to detect the characteristic markers of synthetic fertilizer. They find that older leaves and fruits are more sensitive to it.

The Brix scale, long used to define quality of taste and flavor in wines, can be used in fruit and garden vegetables, a group argues. The number, they say, reflects the sucrose as well as the concentration of minerals and proteins, and these factors combine to make taste.

Even as popularity of organics skyrockets, Monsanto wins farmers over, worldwide, with its genetically modified seeds that kill bugs and withstand weed-killing poisons. Nearly all the soybeans and 70% of the corn planted in U.S. are genetically modified and get to our dinner plates via processed foods, animal feed, cornstarch, corn syrup, or cooking oil.

As farmers increasingly specialize in one or two crops, aging European gardeners become accidental guardians of biodiversity and flavor. Preservation is crucial because old seeds can be bred into mainstream food crops as climate changes and population grows, but new generation is eschewing agrarian lifestyle, and seeds are being lost.

Since the '80s, Cynthia Rosenzweig, NASA scientist, has been studying food supply and the warming planet. Though the subject is complicated, it's the human factor that makes her optimistic: People are learning how to consume less energy, send less heat-trapping gas into the air and, possibly, how to create a world where people everywhere can get enough to eat.

In 100-year-old crop lands used for research, Illinois scientists found that 50 years of massive nitrogen fertilization reduced corn yields and that level of organic carbon in the soil was greatly diminished, which leads to greater drought vulnerability. Conclusion? Lower doses of fertilizer often are better for crops, soil, water and air.

Ozone from burning of fossil fuels stands to damage crops, possibly reducing food production by 10 percent this century, MIT study shows. The study looked at temperature, carbon dioxide, and ozone, all of which are rising, and found that the net effect is especially harmful to heavily fertilized plants.

Plant scientists have discovered the world's hottest chili pepper in India. With a Scoville heat score nearly double that of the previous record holder, the Bhut Jolokiam pepper could serve as an economical seasoning in packaged foods.

In paradigm shift from corn/soy mix that requires water, anti-hunger groups find success in feeding malnourished and starving children with sweet-tasting paste made from peanuts, peanut oil, powdered milk and powdered sugar, and fortified with vitamins and minerals.

Despite strong community opposition, European Union OKs imports of genetically modified corn and sugar beet for human and animal food; varieties were developed by subsidiary of DuPont, a unit of Dow Chemical, Monsanto and a German plant breeding company, KWS SAAT and taps into the $6 billion biotech crop market.

Praying to the god of corn has its price: nitrogen waste in the waterways, taxpayer money feeding the industry, low-nutrition meat from animals that eat it, but it provides a fertile field of medical research, and in Mexico, growing corn is the only way one farmer ensures his wife's tortillas have the authentic taste.

Monsanto and Dow agree to stack designer-modified bug-killing, herbicide-resisting genes in corn seed, with eye on maximum yields; with 93 million acres dedicated to crop in U.S., critics worry about unintended deaths of insects beneficial to ecosystem and soil.

Though banned for sale in March, Monsanto's GMO alfalfa seed was already widely planted in Michigan; public interest group sues, citing concerns for human and animal health as well as possible contamination of conventional alfalfa plants through pollination by bees.

Seeking the perfect tomato means eschewing perfectly formed orbs in favor of a weedy tangle of vines in which antique, thin-skinned heirloom treasures are hidden; this obsession is an art in the Merrimack Valley, where growers proliferate.

Amber waves of wheat, once vital to Vermont's economy (and even part of the state seal), may return to the state fields, as bakers and locavores seek nearby sources and crops specialist uses USDA grant to grow three heirloom varieties - Surprise, Champlain and Defiance.

Bane and benefit both, blackberries cover the Oregon landscape with a thorny thicket but are high in antioxidants, show promise in tumor reduction, are a high cash crop, a primary food source for honeybees and other pollinators - and they're tasty as well.

Bumper crop of corn leaves farmers struggling for storage; existing facilities have more business than they can handle, and manufacturers of silos and storage equipment are stepping up production; some farmers may resort to old schoolhouses, airport hangars, caves, or even tarp-covered piles on the ground.

In search of past glory, team of top-level scientists from Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station aim for the return of the tasty tomato, one that is nirvana with salt on a piece of crusty bread, one that isn't necessarily a good keeper.

For Toronto, Tokyo and other urban sites, Columbia University professor conceives of vertical farming in tall buildings, with each floor hosting hydroponically grown crops, including grains, as well as small livestock such as pigs.

It won't be used directly as food, but in a key concession and after years of restrictions and over environmentalists' objections, EU is poised to allow growth of GMO potato to make paper coating, with remainder going for livestock feed; in U.S., 89% of soybeans and 61% of corn reportedly are modified.

Kamut, a heirloom wheat with a sweet, nutty flavor and high in nutritional qualities, once the darling of the Birkenstock crowd, has captured Italy carbohydrate-wise, and Saskatchewan, as well as Montana and Alberta, are profiting.

It's a $70 billion annual bill, and before, only agribusiness cared, but a tsunami of activists now believes that its subsidies for corn and soy encourage diet-related disease and climate change; instead, they advocate money for sustainable and organic food production, agricultural conservation and for a priority on fresh, local fruits and vegetables.